• At a Glance: Carey Price won for the first time at the Bell Centre since Feb. 10, and the Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3 Saturday night. Brian Gionta scored his first goal of the season – and his first as the Canadiens captain – only 1:06 into the game after a turnover at the Montreal blue line gave him a breakaway on Brian Elliott. Gionta deked the goalie and beat him with a backhand.Ottawa got that one back nine minutes later when Milan Michalek pounced on rebound on a shot from Daniel Alfredsson.The Canadiens dominated the second period, with Ottawa not getting a shot on goal until the 10:20 mark of the period. But Ottawa made it count when Erik Karlsson blasted a shot from the point past Price. Less than a minute later, Michalek scored his second of the game for a 3-1 Ottawa lead. The Canadiens fought back, though, to tie the game 3-3 before the period was over. Jeff Halpern was credited with the second goal when his pass from behind the net went off the skate of Ottawa defenceman Chris Campoli and slipped behind Elliott. Andrei Kostitsyn tied the game 3-3 with less than three minutes to play with a nice move after a pass from Tomas Plekanec.The two players combined to give the Canadiens a 4-3 lead, this time with Plekanec beating Elliott with four minutes to play for his second goal of the season.Price finished with 16 saves, while Elliott stopped 33 of 37 shots he faced. Robin Lehner stopped three shots he faced at the start of the third period as Elliott missed the first few minutes of the frame as he had a skate repaired.

• Key Moments: The Canadiens power play was blanked again, going 0-for-5 and has scored only one goal all season.

• What It Means: Montreal’s win improves its record to 3-1-1 for seven points in five games and they have won two straight games.• What’s Next: The Canadiens have a few days off before the New Jersey Devils visit the Bell Centre. Montreal then travels to Ottawa to face the Senators again next Saturday.

Anyone tried to take the Habs Inside/Out survey on the right-hand side? I got as far as the second question (province of residence) and got this weird message. Glad to know my collaboration is precious.

We thank you for your precious
collaboration; it is greatly appreciated.Unfortunately,
we have reached the number of participants your profile.

You mean that guy the Habs beat like a rented mule in the playoffs in 02 and 04? Koivu outscoring him despite spending the season battling cancer? Thornton can’t compete when it counts, ever.

Team Canada coddles him, gives him Boyle, Heatley and Marleau to play with and their PP unit was still crap and the Marleau/Heatley line showed the most life when Thornton went off the ice and Toews jumped on.

I can’t think of a player in the entire league who fails to produce when it counts more than Joe Thornton. How he ever made Canada’s Olympic team is one of the great mysteries of the universe, right up there with the origins of human consciousness and the existence of dark matter.